Filmmaker accuses Spike Lee of violating copyright with 'Chi-Raq'

Producer of 2003's 'A Miami Tail' says similarities with 'Chi-Raq' are too close

Spike Lee, whose movie "Chi-Raq" was filmed in Chicago over the summer, is being accused of copyright infringement by Roderick Powell, producer of 2003's "A Miami Tail."

Both are modern-day adaptations of the ancient Greek play "Lysistrata," the Aristophanes comedy from 411 B.C. that hinges on a sex strike played out by the women of Greece to put an end to the Peloponnesian War. In "Chi-Raq" and "A Miami Tail," that premise has been shifted to a hip-hop culture of a 21st century American city, with the focus on stopping local gun violence and starring a predominantly black cast.

An indie made for $400,000, "A Miami Tail" stars comedian Sommore, rapper Mr. Cheeks and hip-hop performer Trina in the lead as Alicia Strada (get it?). The trailer — which jumped from roughly 20,000 views to 43,000 in a matter of hours as of early Friday afternoon — tells a similar story to that of "Chi-Raq," but there do not appear to be moments of seriousness (akin to Jennifer Hudson's portrayal in "Chi-Raq"). "A Miami Tail" is being sold strictly as a comedy, though one with a point. (That has always been true of "Lysistrata" as well — using a ribald premise to make a deeper statement about the toll violence takes on a society.)

"It's an urban cult classic," Powell told me of his film on Friday. "I hate to be stereotypical, but a certain demographic knows the movie and helped it become an underground hit. Surprisingly, 10 years later it's still on Netflix! So I was like, wow, OK — I guess it still has some popularity."

Here's Powell's argument:

"We're exploring options, but our contention is that 'Chi-Raq' is essentially a remake of 'A Miami Tail,' just set in Chicago with a different title. The plot, characters, look and feel of the film, and so on are very similar. And if it's similar in spirit but the only difference is it's set in Chicago, my lawyers think I have a strong case."

You can see where he's coming from. He and his collaborators put a lot of time, effort and creative energy into their movie and no doubt feel protective of it.

Jonathan Masur, an expert in intellectual property law at the University of Chicago Law School, said he isn't surprised Powell is pursuing this. "People want to protect their artistic works and it's probably not bad publicity for 'A Miami Tail,' either. And they probably think Spike stole their idea. People are rightfully possessive of their ideas and they don't want their ideas stolen — but copyright doesn't protect against the theft of ideas."

Some facts: "Lysistrata" is in the public domain. Anyone can adapt it. No one owns the plot or the characters — or even the idea of setting it in a modern American city.

"Here's the key point," said Masur, "you can't copyright the idea of doing a black adaptation of 'Lysistrata.' You can copyright particular things. You can copyright a piece of dialogue or the way that you frame a scene. But you can't copyright the idea of making a particular film. Just because 'A Miami Tail' had the idea of setting 'Lysistrata' in a modern context in America with actors of color, that's not going to be enough to qualify as copyright infringement."

Lions Gate Films

"A Miami Tail," released in 2003, features hip-hop artist Trina in a modern-day adaptation of the Greek play “Lysistrata." Roderick Powell, producer of the film, said Spike Lee's "Chi-Raq" is essentially a remake of his movie.

"A Miami Tail," released in 2003, features hip-hop artist Trina in a modern-day adaptation of the Greek play “Lysistrata." Roderick Powell, producer of the film, said Spike Lee's "Chi-Raq" is essentially a remake of his movie. (Lions Gate Films)

Masur gave this hypothetical: "This is the 20th anniversary of 'Clueless,' which is Jane Austen's 'Emma' set in a modern context. If someone else wanted to go out and make a remake of 'Emma' updated to 2015, the producers of 'Clueless' couldn't sue them for copyright, either."

Even if they set it in an LA high school? "Exactly. Just the broad outline of 'Emma' set in a California high school is not enough."

What about Powell's concerns that "Chi-Raq" stole the look, feel and tone of his movie?

"Those words are dead giveaways that this isn't a good copyright case," said Masur. "When somebody says they're talking about 'look and feel,' those two things are classically not copyrightable. You can copyright a particular set design, but you can't copyright something as generalized as look or feel. The characters and plot, those come from 'Lysistrata' and they don't own the copyright unless they did something new and original with those characters that wasn't in the play."

Powell didn't sound angry or aggrieved or opportunistic when we talked, so much as confused and a bit hurt. "I don't want to go to court. Spike Lee is one of my idols! (He is) one of the reasons I became a filmmaker in the first place. So it doesn't make me happy to be involved in this at all. I hope Spike's team will reach out to me and we can talk amicably about it, because to me it's not a money thing, it's a principle thing."

No formal complaint has been filed yet, he said, because he hasn't seen the movie, which is scheduled to open in theaters Dec. 4. "I don't think it will be much different from the trailer, but you never know. So we have to wait, watch the movies side by side and read the scripts side by side." (Based on the trailer for "Chi-Raq," the script seems to be written, at least in part, in rhymed verse; according to Powell, the script for "A Miami Tail" was not.)

"But if the movie is similar to the trailer, we feel pretty good about our case," Powell said.

What sort of outcome is he looking for? "That's the tricky part, to be honest with you. There has to be money involved or my lawyers won't take the case. But it's a negotiation and we'll be going for damages. The best remedy would have been if they called me before the movie was made: 'OK, I think you made a movie like this and we're going to do something similar, will you come on board as a consulting producer?' I would have said yes, and that would have been the end of it.

"I take no joy in this at all. I didn't go out looking or a lawsuit, you know? I'm a happy person!

"I used to live in Chicago, and that's a whole other issue," said Powell, who is now based in Atlanta.

"Aside from the copyright infringement, I do have some reservations about using that format — the satire comedy format — for what's going on in Chicago. When I made 'A Miami Tail,' the things going on Miami were nowhere near the seriousness of what's going on in Chicago, so people embraced that it was a comedy. But trying to fit that into Chicago? I have concerns."

Powell had one final thought. "There is some general hesitancy among the cast and crew of 'A Miami Tail' to speak out. They are all in the entertainment industry and do not want to get blackballed in the industry because they spoke out against Spike Lee. This is a big concern. I am taking a risk myself by speaking out!"

I reached out to representatives of "Chi-Raq" about the accusations of copyright infringement, and they could not be reached for comment.

A version of this article appeared in print on November 07, 2015, in the News section of the Chicago Tribune with the headline "Filmmaker accuses `Chi-Raq,' Lee with copyright violation" —
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